


DNA Doesn't Lie

by Mid_Nightmare



Series: Let Me Be Your Superhero [1]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Abortion, Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha Damian Wayne, Alpha Slade Wilson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Beta Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Character Death, Dark, Dark Bruce Wayne, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Extremely Underage, Heavy Angst, Horrible really, Implied underage pregnancy, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Minor Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Minor Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Miscarriage, Not Canon Compliant, Omega Dick Grayson, Omega Jason Todd, Omega Tim Drake, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sorry Not Sorry, Underage Pregnancy, Underage Rape/Non-con, no happy ending (yet)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:00:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mid_Nightmare/pseuds/Mid_Nightmare
Summary: When a bored afternoon causes Jason, Tim, and Damian to goof off with their DNA and the BatComputer, none of them expected to get a result. Least of all a result that would break the very foundation of their lives. Could it be true? Could they really be the biological offspring of Bruce Thomas Wayne and Richard John Grayson? Well, DNA doesn't lie...
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson
Series: Let Me Be Your Superhero [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941505
Comments: 88
Kudos: 363





	DNA Doesn't Lie

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!  
> This is actually my first ever DC fic. The idea for this series has been following me everywhere for months, so I finally decided to write part of it. This is a piece that comes in later in the series, but I had such lovely encouragement from a big group of friends to write it. So please be kind to me. I'm very open to feedback especially since this series will expand by quite a lot!
> 
> This story goes into a lot of very dark themes. I strongly push that if you are not comfortable with active discussions of miscarriages, abuse, abortion, and rape - especially on a minor - that you do NOT read this story or this series. That included Bruce Wayne is NOT a good guy in this series, so please don't comment about how he would never do this. There will be a further discussion into why Bruce is the way he is in a later story.
> 
> Obviously, there are some large canon changes, but I'm trying to keep everything and everyone as similar to their canon selves as possible. We've already discussed Bruce, so I'm ignoring him at the moment. Yes, Damian is going to be nicer and more willing to touch people, but that is because he was never with Tahlia or the League of Assassins. He was actually raised in Wayne Manor, so I apologize for him being a little different, but he's still a brat at times <3
> 
> That being said, I do hope you enjoy it! It will take me a bit to get the main story out (where we follow Dick's life), but we'll get there!
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> UPDATE 10/11: Sorry, guys! I had to make a quick adjustment to the date given within the story. Nothing has changed except it is now AUGUST in this story instead of October. I realized I had forgotten about the blooming times for these flowers, and while August is stretching it a little bit too, it is much more believable.

The box sat in the center of the screen innocently, doing its purpose, and having no idea of the consequences the text inside it held. The three boys staring at the screen were completely stunned as the news rattled them to the core. 

“It… can’t be,” Jason struggled to get out after several minutes of just staring at the screen.

“The… computer wouldn’t lie,” Tim replied slowly, still blinking to see if it was all an illusion. “Our blood wouldn’t lie."

“But how?” Damian questioned, voice wavering in a way they hadn’t heard since he was thirteen and suffered the consequences of puberty.

“No, this must be a prank. What day is it? It’s gotta be April Fool’s Day,” Jason scrambled, trying to find his phone.

“It’s August,” Damian sighed with a roll of his eyes. “August 1st.”

“It can’t be. There’s no way this shit is real.”

“DNA doesn’t lie, idiot.”

“I know that, but someone easily could have set this up as a joke!”

“Easily? This is the BatComputer. Nothing to do with it is ever easy.”

“It still could happen!”

“And who would do it? Bruce? Alfred? You know Grayson can’t. We haven’t seen him in three years. Bruce had his credentials stripped anyways.”

“Oh, my God,” Jason said softly, head dropping into his hands. Tim turned to look at the other, frowning as he seemed to curl into himself.

“Jay, what is it?” It took a minute before Jason could speak, and Tim noticed how his shoulders were shaking. Jason was never a crier, and yet, as he picked up his head, the tears were crystal clear in his eyes.

“The last thing I ever said to Dick was that I hated him… I said he was being a stupid omega, that he didn’t care about the pack…”

Tim remembered that argument. Bruce had just said that Dick had abandoned them, and Jason was the first to go running after the older omega, yelling obscenities at him. His stomach twisted uncomfortably when the memory of the heartbroken look in Dick’s eyes resurfaced. Even when hew as called some of the worst things imaginable, he never once corrected Jason. He let both him and Damian tear him to shreds for abandoning the family, for being a _stupid, mindless omega just looking for a cock._

“We…” Damian started, and Tim turned to see the green tint around his face and the discomfort in his eyes. “We don’t know for certain that it is true yet.”

Jason nodded, and both turned their eyes on the middle child. “Better get going, Timbo,” he tried to say in his usual tone, but it fell flat, hanging awkwardly in the air between them.

With a quick nod, Tim turned back to the screen and tried to ignore the heaviness in the air. It was easy getting Bruce’s DNA profile up, and when he set it beside the three of theirs it was clear with a glance that there were matches, so much so that Tim felt stupid for never realizing it before. Really, how surprising could it be when everyone in the family had black hair and blue eyes. Well, Damian's were green, but it only took one allele for that change. He quickly shook his head and returned to the task at hand.

He went to pull up Dick’s profile, and his stomach made a dangerous twist. Oh God, was it true? They’ve been joking and talking about trying to find their mothers for years, and today, since there was absolutely nothing to do and Bruce was off in Metropolis, they figured they’d have a little fun and just look. They never expected a result. Never expected that they could have known the person all their lives.

Taking a breath, he double-clicked Dick’s file, and a new box popped up. Tim immediately frowned at this one; “Access denied?” he muttered to himself. He knew that Bruce had taken Dick’s credentials away, made it so that the older omega wouldn’t be allowed access to any of the information in the computer. He had also ensured that Nightwing was removed from the Justice League. Bruce insisted that if Dick was running off to be with a serial killer psychopath that little was left of the code Bruce taught him, but to lock away his file? There had to be more to do with this. It didn’t matter though, he’d hacked into the Batcomputer before, and he’d definitely do it again. 

Tim was brought back by the weight on his chair increasing as Jason and Damian leaned more into it. They were probably equally as confused as to why Dick’s health records would be hidden if the way they were leaning over his shoulder said anything.

For several minutes, no one said a word as Tim went about hacking the computer and breaking through lines and lines of code. Jason’s mind had wandered away as he played on his phone (probably talking to Roy) and Damian seemed busy in his own thoughts by the time Tim finally got the file open. He did a quick read before stopping.

His heart leaped into his throat, and he stood up so fast that his chair went back, and both of his brothers tripped and nearly landed on the ground. “What the fuck!” Jason snapped, but Tim was rushing away towards the trash can.

“I’m gonna be sick-”

The other two stared wide-eyed as Tim leaned over the trash bin and very violently gagged, spitting out excess saliva as tears quickly filled and shimmered in his eyes. Jason immediately turned to the computer, trying to see what caused Tim to get so sick. It took him a minute before he saw it.

“No,” he whispered, horror filling his words as he read the lines of text again and again. “It… can’t be.”

“What?” Damian snapped, pushing in to read it, but Jason just turned the teen away. “Jason,” the boy growled, but he silenced as his older brother gave a heartbroken sob and held him tighter. Tim had settled down in the background, but with Jason clinging to him and sobbing, Damian was struggling to escape from the overwhelming scent of two distressed omegas.

It was the most powerful scent he’d ever encountered, and a wave of nauseous hit him like a wall, but it still didn’t stop him. He needed to see what had upset them. Damian could hardly move with the way Jason had him squishing his head, but he twisted slightly, and it was just barely enough to see the screen and the text that threw both of his brothers into fits.

His stomach lurched at the idea. There were six entries on the screen. Six that didn’t include him, Jason, or Tim. Six other pregnancies… Six other siblings.

When Tim had steadied himself, he came back towards them, resting his hand on Jason’s shoulder and leaning in close to the pair of them. The older omega was probably taking it the hardest since his pregnancy with Lian hadn’t been the smoothest in the world. Tim and Damian wouldn’t be surprised if he was imagining what it would have been like to lose her. What Dick had to go through six separate times.

“I have to keep looking,” Tim said softly, and Jason and Damian both nodded. The older omega struggled to pull himself back together, dropping himself down in the nearest unoccupied chair. Damian dragged a chair for himself over to sit between his two brothers, hoping his alpha scent would help to soothe them.

The cave was starting to stink with the bitter and burnt tones of their scents, but the alpha was pushing out a more calming scent than he had ever. Normally he probably would have been shouted at for using his secondary gender over them, but when Jason ended up resting his head on his shoulder and some of the tension ebbed out of Tim’s shoulders, he knew that it helped, and that’s all that mattered as they watched Tim read. Damian just hoped there weren’t any more tears or runs to the trash can. He really wasn’t equipped to handle this.

Tim opened Barbara’s first, but he didn’t make it far before closing it. Only one sentence told Tim enough, and he couldn’t bear to read more. Damian and Jason had seen it too, and they didn't blame him for stopping. 

Opening Stephanie’s went just as badly, but he felt worse. The tears came when he opened Cassandra’s. Duke: And then the two that followed... Their reports were the shortest. They didn’t even have names, but they seemed to be the worst. 

“I can’t sit through more of this,” Jason croaked out, having been typing wildly on his phone. He let out a breath when his phone buzzed again, and he clung harder to Damian’s hand.

“I can’t either,” Tim said, wiping away the tears. He was actually surprised Conner hadn’t already come flying into the Batcave since he must have sensed what he was feeling, but he was thankful for it this time. He needed his brothers right now, not his mate.

“We may not be able to read it, but we need to know,” Damian said. The burnt singe to his scent had grown stronger the longer the screens were open, and he didn’t realize until then when he quickly tried to pull it back.

“I don’t think I can stomach it,” Jason shook his head. “I had to beg Roy to send me a picture of Lian. I couldn’t… I can’t even… imagine.”

“We have to,” Damian pressed, squeezing both omegas’ hands.

“Dami-”

“These… They’re our brothers and sisters.” The words caught in Damian’s throat, and both omegas eyes immediately dropped. The harsh reality of what the computer had hidden from them all creeping into their brains. “They should be remembered. Not buried in a computer.”

Fresh tears slipped down both of his older brother’s cheeks, and they took a moment to press close together and ground themselves again. Damian sighed softly, swallowing down his tears. He couldn’t cry, he had to be strong for them. They needed someone to lean on, and right now Damian was the only one. He couldn’t cry. He wouldn’t. “Bruce won’t tell us anything about them.” The words were whispered in the space between them, but they had all been thinking it. “He wouldn’t have hidden them. Hidden everything.”

A small nod from Tim, and a pair of downcast eyes from Damian. It was another moment before Damian straightened out, sitting at his full height and gaining both omegas’ attention. “Tim, save every file you can that has to do with them and Dick. Once Bruce finds out we know, he’ll probably try to delete them or hide them in a way you can’t find.”

Tim nodded and sat up, shifting back towards the computer as he began to work on what was asked of him. “And what are we going to do afterward?” Jason asked, still tucked into Damian’s neck as he stared down at the photo of his little girl.

“We’re going to talk to Alfred.”

* * *

  
  


It took almost two hours for Tim to find and transfer everything to a secure drive that he always kept on him. Every document that detailed the existence of these other children. He even included the ones of their own births. And the buried birth certificates and legal forms that Tim didn’t have the time to read. Ultrasounds, blood tests, absolutely anything that provided evidence that Dick had been pregnant.

Just as Tim was about to finish though, he found something else, but he couldn’t bring himself to open it at first. It was a file that was locked, another layer he would have to go through, and it seemed innocent enough. It was entitled Videos, and he probably never would have looked twice if it weren’t for everything else that had happened today. After a moment to collect himself, he began the process of opening the folder. It wasn’t as difficult as some of the others, but he knew immediately it was something he should have never opened.

All he could see were thumbnails, but they spoke enough. Some had a very young Dick standing - no, cowering in front of a dark shadow. Some he was in his room. Some he was in the Cave. Some he was in Bruce’s office. Some he was in his Robin attire. Most though… Mostly he was naked, hiding his body from the shadow. The fear on his face, the tears in his eyes, all of it made Tim want to scream and tear the computer from the wall.

They were videos and photos from Bruce and Dick’s couplings, and judging by a majority of the images, it wasn’t a mutual desire. Tim scrolled down, eyes dancing across the screen, jumping between the pictures to see more of Dick’s early years.

The story was clear as crystal.

He wanted to vomit again.

Quickly, he moved the folder over to his drive, and while he had to sit and wait, he felt the anger in him rising. The man he looked up. That he saw as his father, who was _biologically_ his father. He was nothing more than a monster. A monster that had taken an innocent boy and ruined him.

Tim couldn’t help it, and he changed the screen to the one where the four DNA profiles sat. He added Dick’s, ignoring the obvious matching lines, and printed it out after tossing it into his drive. As he waited for the stupid page to print, Jason and Damian approached.

“What did you find?” Jason asked. He’d stopped crying over an hour ago, and now his voice lacked emotion as he stared at the screen.

With a shake of his head, the younger omega couldn’t speak. He snatched the paper out of the print and pulled his drive out, taking the bare minimum amount of time to cover his tracks before he started up the stairs.

“Tim!” Jason shouted, but there was no stopping the other omega. The other two quickly ran after their brother, walking right on his heels as he headed for the kitchen. No one spoke for fear of choking on the tension in the air.

When Tim knocked open the kitchen door, Alfred raised his head from where he was cutting vegetables and stopped. Before he could even open his mouth, the paper was slammed down on the counter between them. “Is this true?!”

Alfred carefully set the knife down and wiped his hands on a towel before picking up the page. Immediately he deflated, and when he looked back at the boys, he suddenly had aged almost twenty years. “I…” he paused, taking a moment to set the page down. “I’m afraid so, Master Timothy.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Damian asked, arms across his chest and scowl in place.

“I have been sworn to secrecy.”

“Bullshit,” Jason snapped, “if you cared, you would have told us.”

“If I cared?” Alfred said, looking up at the boys. His eyes were glossy, and the pain that was so clear on his face made Jason want to take back the words, but he couldn’t. “If I cared…” Alfred repeated quietly before shaking his head.

“Well, you should have told us if you-”

“Do not finish that statement, Master Jason,” Alfred snapped. They were used to sass and snark from the butler, and they’d seen the indignation and even the exasperation, but they had never seen anger and overwhelming pain. He straightened himself up, fixed his suit before untying his apron and setting it down. After rounding the counter, he headed for the glass doors, opening them and speaking; “If you please, follow me.”

The three glanced at each other as Alfred began to walk out the door, and they followed slowly. The walk was long, and they ended up going in a direction that they had never been. “Isn’t this off-limits?” Jason asked, frowning as they went down an almost perfectly hidden path.

“As is breaking into the Batcomputer, but that didn’t stop you.”

He bit his tongue, head dipping in shame at the tone of the butler’s voice. It was worse than when he accidentally set part of the dining table on fire, and he couldn’t help the feeling that he was eight all over again.

A few more minutes of a walk, and suddenly there was a cast-iron gate in front of them. Alfred removed a key from his jacket, turned it within the lock, and pushed the gate open. After he was in, he turned and held the door as he always would, gesturing for them to come in.

They were not expecting a garden.

It was meticulously kept. More so than any other garden on the Wayne property. A cobblestone path twisted through the area, and roses practically lined the walls with only a few trees present. The forest above was open as if it could sense the importance of this place and was leaning away, giving the flowers beneath the sun they desperately needed.

“What?” Jason started, jumping when the gate was closed.

“Follow me,” Alfred said as he began down the path. “Do you know the meaning behind roses?”

“Don’t people give them to loved ones?” Tim asked, confused as to the question.

“Generally, yes, but each color has a unique meaning. White roses, for example,” he paused, tenderly brushing a beautiful white rose with his gloved fingertips, “represents purity, innocence. They also pay respect to the past and hope for the future. I suggested them to Master Richard after Ms. Barbara was lost.”

The others quieted, staring at the delicate roses, and watching as they seemed to lean up and into Alfred. It was Damian that reached out first, gently stroking the edges of the rose’s petals. The wind shifted it seemed, and the rose tucked itself between his fingers. He couldn’t help but smile, even as his eyes once again grew glassy. “Barbara,” he said softly.

“Well,” Alfred said, clearing his voice to cover his own emotions. “Not exactly. These roses are for all of them, but there are specific flowers for each as well.”

Jason and Tim looked up from where they had been lightly touching another rose. “Oh?”

Alfred nodded before continuing to walk, pausing when he met with the large tree in the center of the garden. “A Rowan tree. The tree of life,” Alfred said when the boys moved closer, and they looked up at the ancient being. Bunches of red berries hung from the tree, shining beautifully in the light. “It has a history in many cultures. The Norse believed it was the tree that the first woman was born of. In Scandinavia, they thought it held powerful magic. Throughout the British Isles, it was seen as a symbol of protection. This one has been here for longer than my family has been with the Wayne family. I insisted this was the best place as it would protect Barbara. I never would have guessed we would later need to expand the garden.”

Tim frowned, looking around the garden and noticing the daffodil’s around the space. “What… do daffodils mean?”

“Ah, _Narcissus_ ,” he said as he stared at the flowers. “The reason they are here is that they can mean forgiveness. Master Richard was desperate for it. He always thought it was his fault, and after Ms. Barbara died, he struggled with forgiving himself and even depression. We planted them together, and I hoped it would help him heal.”

A set of small little yellow bell-like flowers ruffled in the wind, and Alfred bent to gently check them over. “What are these ones?” Jason asked as the boys all crouched down.

“ _Narcissus triandrus_ , more commonly called Angel’s Tears. It was one of the selfish decisions I made. The world had lost so many innocent lives… I felt as though they were fitting.”

The boys nodded, and Jason was the one to reach out and squeeze Alfred’s arm. The butler looked at him for a moment before he stood, continuing in his walk. As they passed the rowan tree, the entire garden seemed to change. A bench was tucked against the base of the tree, another off in the far right corner. White roses and daffodils still filled the area, but other flowers were sprinkled throughout, and three more trees stood tall even though they were obviously younger.

Daisies were popping up everywhere, even between the stones of the walkway. Tall beautifully ornate stalks of blue flowers were mixed between the white. “What are the blue ones, Alfred?” Tim asked.

Alfred turned towards the erection of Tim’s finger. “Delphinium,” he sighed, smiling faintly as he looked at them. “Strong bonds of love.”

“And the pink ones?” Damian asked, pointing to the orange-pink stalks of trumpet flowers on the other side.

“Gladiolus. Sincerity, faithfulness, remembrance.”

Before Tim could ask, he noticed something catch the light, and he went towards it, kneeling in front of a family of violets. In the center, a small bronzed plate sat atop a black stone. He brushed his fingers over the bronze while reading the engraving within it.

Barbara Willow Wayne

My Princess

I’ll Guard You, Please Come Back

“Barbara,” Tim said, tracing her name once more. “I’m sorry,” he said as Jason moved closer, and Damian came to his other side.

“Do not apologize,” Alfred said as he set his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Ms. Barbara - I’m afraid Master Richard was too young to carry her. He had done everything correctly, but he was still… small. Too small to carry a full-size child. Sadly, Ms. Barbara was too premature to survive without him.”

Tim and Jason were about to make a comment about how that didn’t change that they were sorry when Alfred continued. “I do believe she realized that for her to continue, Master Richard may not have survived it. I think she realized it was not the ideal time for her, and I believe that she will join us again someday, in some way.”

The silence that followed wasn’t awkward or sad but contemplative. Maybe the world would be kind and let some of their siblings return. Please let something good come of this…

Jason sighed and stood, taking a step back only to brush into a different flower.

“Lilies?” he asked as he touched one of the curled flowers on the tall stalks. They were like candles along the path’s edge, and he imagined them in the night, practically glowing in the moon and guiding his siblings.

“Calla lilies, yes. It is fitting that you should point them out as they were planted for you.” Jason stopped, looking at the older man with wide eyes. “I suggested planting them after we knew you were alive again as they represent rebirth or resurrection.”

Jason swallowed hard, looking around the garden as the realization hit. Dick hadn’t just buried six children but seven. When the Joker had left him for dead, barely clinging onto life, he had become the seventh of Dick’s children to be buried. Seven out of nine… Jason couldn’t even imagine losing and burying one child, and yet Dick had buried almost eighty percent of his blood.

A wall hit him hard as memories of that night flooded back into his mind. He remembered the pain, the fear, the _laughter_ as that stupid clown taunted him. “ _Broken birdie. Broken wings,”_ he had cackled as he slammed the crowbar into his arms. Jason had screamed, cried, begged even. _“No big Bat to save you now, broken birdie.”_

He looked away, hand to his mouth as he tried not to let his stomach flip his lunch back out. There was something else he remembered, something that had haunted his dreams. Something he could never fully place: Hands. He felt hands on his body, checking him over, holding against his neck - finding his pulse, just barely there. He heard the sobs, the agony in the voice. _“Jason! Jason! Baby, please, you have to hold on. Please! I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you too. Help!! Help!”_

A gasp tore through his throat as he stumbled over the air. The memories were growing stronger, and pieces that never seemed to make sense were clicking into place, overwhelming the omega. _“Don’t worry. I’m here. I’m here, sweetie. Oh, God, help!! Help, please!!”_ The voice quieted again, trying to calm him even though Jason didn’t have the strength to open his eyes. Didn’t have the strength to do anything but lean into the voice. One he should remember. It sounded familiar… but… no one had come to save him. _“Jason, baby,”_ the voice cried, and even with his limbs growing cold, he felt the wetness on his face. Rain. Wait, no, not rain, tears. The hands holding him belonged to someone crying. _“Don’t worry, baby. Mommy’s here. I’m here. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Please, please, stay with me… Stay with me, Little Wing.”_

Jason tripped over a stone, and this time he was too lost to correct himself and ended up landing on his chest on the path, gasping as the panic and fear latched onto his spine. He felt hands on him, but he didn’t know if they were the memories or the present. He couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. His mother was there. His mother had tried to save him. His mother had held him as he took his last breath. His mother. His mother. Dick-

He looked up, and immediately, he caught the sight of a new stone sitting right in front of him.

Jason Peter Wayne

Beloved Son

A Little Wing Taken Too Soon

Reaching for it, Jason touched the engraved words, reverently tracing each later. Little Wing. That’s what Dick always called him, especially when he ran his fingers through Jason’s hair. When he let him sleep in his bed during the nightmares. When he failed a test and was scared to tell Alfred and Bruce. When the movies scared him more than he was willing to say. When the parties downstairs grew too loud and rowdy.

Little Wing. Little Wing.

“Who found me?” he found himself whispering, still hypnotized by the two words that held more significance than any others ever had in his life.

“Master Damian and Master Timothy were asleep,” Alfred said softly, and Jason felt the gentle touch of fingers in his hair. “Master Richard came stumbling through the door with you in his arms. I had never seen him so distraught and desperate in my entire life. He was shaking, could barely get a word out.”

Jason’s frown deepened as he reached and gently touched the short purple flowers that surrounded the small stone. The small ones reminded him of clovers in bloom with their weird little heads, but the larger, actually in bloom ones, were breathtaking. A small stalk with a cylindrical head of star-shaped flowers, with the ends of their petals curling back.

“What do these ones mean?” Jason asked, voice so soft that they had to strain to hear him.

Alfred paused, clearing his throat and willing the fresh tears rising in his eyes to stop as he stared at the purple beauties. “Hyacinth,” he said, voice growing thick with emotion, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

A small sob bubbled from Jason, and then the delicately placed restraints everyone had been fighting broke. Even Damian couldn’t keep his tears back this time. The guilt that must have eaten at Dick all these years, how had none of them seen it?

Tears were shed, gut-wrenching sobs tore through them. There was nothing pretty about these tears. Oh, no. With faces contorted in pain, noses beginning to run, all four men cried their pain out. How had they missed it? They grew up with Dick. Grew up with a young man that was so cheerful, so happy, always trying to get them to smile even on the worst days. How had they missed the pain behind his eyes? The guilt that he carried? The flinches whenever Bruce got too close? _How did they miss it?_

It felt like an hour before they had quieted to just sniffles and the occasional hiccup. They sat in the silence as everyone seemed to gather their own thoughts. “I remember-” Jason started, swallowing down another batch of tears, “I remember someone finding me. I don’t remember much, and I think I’m lucky to even have it, but I remember- I remember the crying, the begging, the screaming… Dick was begging me to stay alive, and I remember just being so tired and in so much pain that I couldn’t find it in me to try. I just listened to him, enjoyed his voice. It was better. Knowing someone had found me, you know? It was a lot better than dying in an alley alone.”

Tim gently rubbed his older brother’s back. They all knew that Jason didn’t talk about that night, and no one blamed him for it. Now, having heard more of what happened, it was heartbreaking to know exactly what he had been through. Though Tim thought the biggest tragedy was the fact that Jason didn’t know exactly who held him as he lay dying.

“He never wanted me to be Robin,” Jason sniffled.

“Me either,” Tim agreed.

“Nor I.”

The three brothers seemed to press closer to each other. “He knew the risks. He’d lived with a monster. He was trying to protect us…” Jason continued, reaching up and taking Tim’s hand in his. “We all just ignored him though.” Another few minutes of silence spent with each brother thinking about when they first became Robin, remembering the fights Dick would get in with Bruce. And Jason had made his worst nightmare come true… How could he have been so stupid?

“Do the others have stones too?” Damian asked quietly.

Alfred gently patted Jason’s head before standing, brushing off his suit and using his handkerchief to dab away the signs of his tears. “Yes. Master Richard insisted that if he was going to have a memorial that the names of each be present.”

The three boys looked up before looking at each other. A small nod was shared before they also began to stand. “Will you show us?” Tim asked.

A sad smile pulled up the corner of the older beta’s lips. “I would be happy to.”

  
  
  


Alfred took his time, patiently explaining each flower, their meaning, and if they had been for someone specific. The two small trees in the corners were rosemary, and they were for their unnamed brothers/sisters. They had actually been surprised to find that there were little names on the plaques. “I thought they didn’t have names? The computer didn’t list anything,” Tim frowned.

With a shake of his head, Alfred sighed. “Master Bruce didn’t see the point, but Master Richard wasn’t about to bury them without a name. He gave each unisex names since they were too small to know much about their gender or personalities.” 

They squinted at the plaques, Kadance and Angel, both lost little ones, and more hyacinth was scattered around the plaques. “Master Richard-”

“It’s okay, Alfred. We understand,” Jason said, slightly shaking his head before gently pressing his hand to their trunks.

The small placards at the base of each tree twinkled up at them in the sunshine, each wishing to see the little one again. Damian had tucked up against Jason’s side when the omega remained quiet, and Tim had moved to the other side. “I couldn’t imagine not knowing,” Jason said softly, looking down as more hyacinth was beginning to peak up from the grass. Neither brother spoke, but they didn’t have to as the oldest continued. “They were still so small…”

Jason couldn’t move for another few minutes. Tim had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He knew what the answer was anyways. Why else would Dick have two abortions? He certainly wouldn’t have gone through the process of naming them, putting up plaques, and adding them to the little memorial garden if he hadn’t wanted them. That meant that these two had specifically been chosen by Bruce to not survive. Dick not only had to suffer from losing his children naturally but also because the man that was supposed to protect him had simply decided he didn’t want to deal with these two. Bruce had made the decision that neither Kadance nor Angel would get a chance at life.

When they managed to pull away from the littles ones, they began to walk along the garden edge some more. The delphinium and gladiolus twisted through all of the white flowers, bringing vibrant pops of color in. It was easier to make them out now. The little ruffled petals of the delphinium were begging to be touched, and none of the boys could help but brush their fingers against them. Tim even stopped to smell them, but he frowned at the flower. “Well?” Damian asked.

“Nothing really,” Tim shrugged before immediately turning to one of the gladioli instead. His frown only deepened. “This doesn’t really smell like anything either.”

Damian’s typical tsk-scoff left his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest, and Alfred chuckled softly. “If you’re looking for a scent, the roses may be the best. Or the snapdragons.”

“Snapdragons?” Jason asked, looking around at the flowers. “Which ones are those again?”

With a fond roll of his eyes, Alfred gestured behind Jason, and the omega turned to see a lively variety of colors. They were all mixed and helped to tie in some of the other colors throughout the garden, and Jason smiled as he crouched down to smell them. “Bubblegum?” he asked incredulously.

The others stared before quickly coming over for a whiff as well. Alfred hummed and nodded. “Some do say that they smell like that. They were planted for Ms. Stephanie. Master Richard was always craving sweets when he was carrying her.”

“When does he not want sweets?” Jason quipped with a small smile that slowly slipped away. On the ground, right in front of the flowers, a different placard read:

Stephanie Blaze Wayne

Sweetest Daughter

Sunshine Lost to the Rain

Tim stared at the name. It seemed really familiar. Sure he’d met several in school, but this just seemed different… “I think I remember Grayson mentioning her before,” Damian said softly. Everyone turned to look at him as he rested his chin on his knee. “I remember him getting withdrawn some days. I think I remember him pacing. He would just walk back and forth in front of a window, and I-” He frowned, practically glaring at the flowers in front of him. “I think I heard him mutter something about sunshine.”

“Yes, Master Richard said that Ms. Stephanie was like the sun. He didn’t know why exactly, but he just felt that it was right.” Alfred let out a breath. “He actually told me after she was gone that he had dreams about her. He swore she was going to be blonde. He didn’t know how or why because his own parents were brunettes as well as Master Bruce’s father, but he could see her. Clear as day.”

“I… think I remember that too,” Jason said after a moment. “He’d get so quiet some days. Even if the weather was beautiful for Gotham, he’d stay inside.”

“He found it very difficult to go out on the 11th of August. Even when the sun would shine.” Once more, all eyes were on Alfred, but the man’s attention remained captivated on the placard. “That was the day he lost her. I remember it as if it was yesterday. He struggled to get up from both the physical and emotional pain, but it was your first birthday in five days, and you still required a lot of his time. You were what kept him going, Master Jason.”

“Five days?” Damian growled. “He must have gotten pregnant what? Six months after Jason was born?”

“Almost to the day,” Alfred sighed.

Shaking his head, Damian let out his signature sound. “Disgusting.”

It was quiet before Alfred very gently used his handkerchief to clean a small speck of dirt off the placard. “Let me introduce you to Master Duke.”

He went around the snapdragons and stopped not even five feet away in front of another English rose. They moved over and looked down, noticing that these roses weren’t white. They were a pale yellow, buttery in shade, and when they touched a petal, the texture was smooth as silk. “Master Duke,” Alfred gestured to the roses and the small plaque that they were looking for. 

Duke Thomas Wayne

Sleeping Prince

Continue Visiting in Dreams

Alfred was smiling at the rose bush, very gently looking over their leaves and petals as the boys took their time. “What can you tell us about him?” Tim asked after a minute.

“He was a quiet little one,” Alfred started, chuckling as a rose caught onto his glove. “No, I’m not leaving just yet, Master Duke.” With a shift of the wind, the thorn released the gloves, and the roses seemed to be brighter in color. “He may have been quiet, but he was a lovely little boy. Master Richard said he never really kicked or made his presence known in any harsh way. No, he would merely press his little foot or hand against Master Richard’s stomach when he wanted to be given attention.”

A smile crossed all of their faces as they imagined what it must have been like. “You, Master Timothy, would lie on Master Richard’s stomach, and you would always giggle whenever it happened. You and Master Duke seemed to have a strong bond. It was a very sad day when he was lost…

You wouldn’t eat. Wouldn’t sleep. You kept lying on Master Richard’s stomach, babbling and waiting to feel a response. Whenever Master Richard would pull you away, you’d cry. Then when you cried, Master Jason would cry, and it went on most of the day until Master Richard… He couldn’t help it. He started crying. He had told me that the cramps hadn’t stopped, and his stitches were sore, but what bothered him the most was the fact that he couldn’t console either of you. He couldn’t bring back your brother like you wanted, and it was only when he cried that you both stopped.

You were such good boys, and you absolutely adored your mother. You both just moved closer, stopped your crying, and tried to console him. To think, a three-year-old and a ten-month-old trying to console your mother. To protect him from himself.”

He sighed and shook his head, stroking the rose whose thorn had grabbed him before. “Master Duke was hard on you all.”

“And the others?”

“Well, Ms. Barbara was before any of you. Ms. Stephanie, as you know, was when Master Jason was too young to know. Ms. Cassandra-” Alfred cleared his throat, righting himself. “Ms. Cassandra was a tragedy, but again, you wouldn’t have known her. She was only 27 weeks after you, Master Timothy, and Master Jason, you were only sixteen months old.”

“The computer said that Cassandra was… she made it to 25 weeks. She really… was only conceived two weeks after I was born?” Tim asked, the disbelief and horror so clear in his tone. “I- That can’t be possible.”

Alfred turned, gave the boy a small squeeze on the shoulder. “I wish I could tell you it wasn’t, but it is possible to get pregnant before one’s first postpartum period which can occur anywhere between four and twenty-four weeks after birth.” All three boys seemed even more horrified. “It was rare. Very rare. But Master Richard was still young, and… well, we thought it had to do with the medication he was taking.” A beat of silence before:

“I’ll kill him,” Damian said as he turned on his heel and took a step towards the front gates.

“Damian, no!” Jason called, grabbing the boy and pulling him back.

“Let me go!” Damian cried, trying to push off the omega. “I’ll kill him! I will! I don’t care if he’s my father!”

“Stop it!” Tim argued, grabbing the boy’s leg when he kicked it up to get Jason off.

“You will not kill him!” Jason shouted.

“Why not?! He’s tortured him! Tormented him! Kept him from us! He should pay for his crimes! He’s no better than any criminal we’ve faced!”

“He’s still our father!”

“He’s stolen our mother’s life away!”

Everyone stopped as the words left Damian. They couldn’t argue that it wasn’t true. After everything they’ve learned… Bruce really was no better than any criminal they fought. And yet even though Jason had already spilled blood on his hands, he couldn’t imagine going after Bruce and killing him.

He wasn’t the best father. Hell, he wasn’t even a good one. He had lied, cheated, and stolen their childhoods. Had stolen them from their mother. To think they had all been so stupid to not realize the signs. They all groaned and complained about Dick being like a mother hen, always fixing their hair and making sure they looked nice for school. He was always talking, always asking questions about their day, what they wanted to eat, what they wanted to listen to.

He had been to every single one of their parent-teacher conferences with Alfred. Bruce was always too busy to go, but Dick was there, and if he couldn’t go, it was because he was at home with them: making them soup, tucking them in at night, kissing their bruises and bumps.

Dick had been there for every important moment in their lives, and yet they shrugged him off, cursed him out, screamed at him, shouted obscenities, and even called him some of the worst things that omegas could be called just because of what Bruce said.

They hadn’t even thought twice before doing all it. Bruce said that Dick had abandoned them for Slade Wilson, and they immediately accepted. No one even stopped to consider that the young man that had been there for everything may have had a reason to go besides being with an alpha. They only found him to make sure he knew that he wasn’t needed or wanted, that a common whore wouldn’t be tolerated in the family. They had dropped Dick so fast and hard all because of Bruce’s words. Words that had now been proven to be worth a grain of salt.

“Why did Dick leave?” Jason asked as he slowly let Damian go, Tim following when the boy didn’t immediately try and run away.

“Master Bruce,” Alfred started, a frown clear in his tone. They all turned to look back at the man, and he seemed sadder now than he had throughout their time in the garden. “As you know, Master Bruce began seeing Ms. Selina. When it appeared that their relationship was going well, Master Bruce told Master Richard was no longer welcome in the home.”

“And he went to Wilson?” Damian scoffed.

“Mr. Wilson, from what I’ve gathered, has always tried to take care of Master Richard and you all.”

That got them to stop. Even Damian seemed shocked and confused. “He’s a murderer. A serial killer,” Tim argued.

“It is true that he has killed, but… he has also saved Master Richard when he could. I do not know the full story, but it is because of Mr. Wilson that the Joker is no longer with us.”

Jason blinked slowly before frowning. “Bruce said he had put him in Arkham and that he escaped.”

“That is also true, but once he had escaped, he was never seen again. Master Richard had confessed to me that he had told Mr. Wilson about what happened and that he thought the man had done something about it. He even confessed that he wasn’t sorry if he had.”

A different feeling came into the air, and Damian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Wilson? Helping them? Taking out the man that killed Jason because Dick had said what the Joker had done? Would he really go through that much effort? For no gain.

He started walking again, but as he passed too close to the bench in the corner, he was caught by a series of thorns. The vine had caught his pant leg, pulling and trying to keep him back.

“I agree, Ms. Cassandra,” Alfred said with a frown. “There will be no killing in this house as for your previous comment, Master Damian, and you need to think before you make such rash outbursts.”

“Cassandra?” Tim and Jason immediately asked together, and Damian looked down and over to see the plaque on the bench. 

Cassandra Skylar Wayne

Protective Sister and Daughter

Rest Now, I Will Protect You

“A raspberry bush. Master Richard ate a lot of raspberries while he was pregnant, and he accidentally got some seeds on the ground when he would eat them out here. They grew into a bush that he loved and took care of every day while he was here. After a few years, he would even eat the berries that had grown, and he’d even feed them to you all when he’d bring you in here sometimes.

“And as surprised as you may be to hear this, Ms. Cassandra was fond of Master Bruce. I think she agrees that you need to think before making any more rash outbursts and decisions.”

Damian flushed, sitting on the bench and gently unhooking the thorns from his pants. “What do you suggest then?” he asked the vine while scowling. “Wilson has protected us, and Bruce is a monster. Our lives are nothing as they seemed. I’m sure even you would want to fix everything.”

The vines didn’t respond, but Tim did. “I know what we should do.” Everyone turned to look towards the middle child, and he grinned at them, feeling more confident than he had at any point today. “We go and find out the full story. We go and find Mom.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say thank you again for reading! We will be seeing a lot more of Dick and Slade in future works, so if you're here for them, I promise they'll be back. <3
> 
> The title for this series also comes from a song by Smash Into Pieces called Let Me Be Your Superhero. 
> 
> Also, the text for the computer I really wanted to stand out, so I used a website to make it. So, in case anyone would like to use it as well, here's the website: https://fontmeme.com/pixel-fonts/


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